08/16/2020 - 14:26
- Clarín.com
- sports
After a first week of training in which the work of the Boca squad was based on physical tasks (and with the ball) in groups designated according to the protocol, in Miguel Ángel Russo's mind he is planning the next days pointing to the return of football , set for September 17 at the international level and estimated for the end of the same month for the AFA. Will there be a chance to schedule friendlies? Will your mouth start to focus on a "bubble"?
The roadmap of the last Superliga champion still has several points to be defined according to what the results of the coronavirus tests and the protocol they sign from the Ministry of Health allow. On Wednesday there will be a new series of PCR tests, beyond the serological ones granted by the AFA. And although until now only the boy Agustín Almendra had to be isolated, with the background that the average number of infections in Europe had a higher number in the second and third weeks back to practice, Boca will not relax a bit in checks on your campus.
The main objective is to have a work group without contagion until August 24. Since that day, the club has reserved a hotel in Ezeiza to hold a concentration and that from that moment the players coexist with each other within the rules. But the essential thing will be to be able to accelerate the process of practice in groups or even get to soccer rehearsals. For that to happen, there must first be the OK from the authorities.
Lisandro López in the Boca practice.
In the planning of the Soccer Council in conjunction with the physical trainer Damián Lanatta, the possibility of having friendly matches at the Ezeiza site for the first days of September is also noted . Can there be a series of practice matches against teams that also play the Copa Libertadores? Tigre and Defensa y Justicia are some of the teams that also thought about isolating themselves in concentrations and are among those listed as possibilities.
On the other hand, although Boca received offers to carry out the preseason in different provinces of the country, the DT's idea is to continue minimizing the risks of contagion in Ezeiza and within a logical framework of work. However, from the statement that Conmebol sent as a pressure to speed up the times and hedge any chance of delaying the games, the possibility of establishing San Juan as an alternative venue for Boca was thrown on the table.
In principle, the Bombonera will be the stadium in which Miguel Russo's team will seek to play in the Copa Libertadores. If sanitary provisions do not allow it, there they will begin to carve possibilities even outside the AMBA.
Tevez, in one of Boca's training sessions. (Photo: Boca Press)
For now, in Boca they consider that Conmebol will end up accepting a rethinking of the dates after the meetings that the members of the Council will have, which also include voices from each government of the countries involved.
What if FIFA decides to postpone the start of the Playoffs to November or even 2021? There, the Cup calendar can have greater flexibility to delay the matches that were originally set for the first half of September.
According to plan, Boca must first travel to Asunción to face Libertad and then to Colombia to play against Independiente Medellín. With these goals ahead, Miguel Russo and company want to fulfill their forecast as much as possible. Something that they know in advance that it will be "very difficult", but they will not stop trying.
FK